The smash-hit Mario Kart 8 Deluxe represented peak, traditional Nintendo kart racer design. But with Mario Kart World ($79.99) for the Switch 2, Nintendo delightfully breaks expectations via open-world freedom and incredibly crafted modes, including the new (and free!) Bob-omb Blast Battle DLC. Naturally, the new spin on Nintendo kart racing comes with a few growing pains and room for future evolution. Still, Mario Kart World is a remarkable racer for speed demons of all ages, and an Editors' Choice award winner for Switch 2 games.

Gameplay: Mario Kart Goes Open World

Mario Kart World is a game I've wanted for more than 15 years, not just because it's another sequel in one of my favorite racing series, but because it's a spiritual successor to Burnout Paradise. After Criterion's 2008 masterpiece shook up the racing genre, I've been convinced that the ideal racing game features an open world that captures the real-life joy of casually driving to interesting locales, but with a recklessness that's only safe in a video game.

Until now, no follow-ups have fully recaptured Burnout's magic. Forza Horizon is too boring, sedate, and realistic. Lego 2K Drive doesn't fully deliver on the promise of its Lego landscape. Does anyone even remember The Crew? But Mario Kart World, with its Nintendo levels of AAA polish on the company's most powerful platform yet, is the wild and whimsical open-world racing game I've dreamed of.

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Mario Kart World's huge, open map is its central hook, but how does that impact one of the most beloved multiplayer series? Quite a bit. Even something as basic as a Grand Prix takes on an entirely new form.

First, you race the standard three laps in the first course. Afterward, all racers must drive from the end of that course to the starting line for the next one, because everything now takes place within the same map, with the courses connected by roads. The whole affair feels more organic and dynamic, as you focus more on adapting to situations on the fly rather than memorizing lap layouts.

These intermediary races feature plenty of their own tricky designs to bridge one track to the next. One minute you're in a snowy cosmic observatory, and the next you're in a haunted movie theater. The game features both new and returning tracks, 32 in total, but even the retro courses are heavily reimagined to fit the new context.

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The most brilliant use of the new format is the Knockout Tour. In this mode, you race across the map, like a point-to-point cross-country rally race, with the bottom players being eliminated at various checkpoints until only the winner remains. It's addictive and exhilarating, similar to a gripping battle royale match. The checkpoints provide a satisfying series of small triumphs, making being in the middle of the pack meaningful, even if you don't win.

Mario Kart World supports 24 racers, with Mario and Luigi facing off against deep-cut characters like Cow and Dolphin. Knockout Tour showcases the added chaos from the extra racers, where one unlucky red shell can send you plummeting down 20 spots. It's like Mario's take on The Cannonball Run.

Unfortunately, many routes connecting these courses consist of boring, straight lines or empty, Wave Race-esque open patches of water. Lanes in open roads and more traditional courses are wider to support the additional racers, which reduces the challenge. However, savvier drivers will quickly learn that seemingly basic roads are packed with multiple paths that may lead to more optimal routes. By being more low-key, the connecting roads also create a buildup that makes courses more dramatic in comparison.

For more, check out our Knockout Tour tips.

Races: Lots of Ways for Fun

Mario Kart World also uses its open map to deliver the franchise's most substantial single-player mode. Taking influence from Diddy Kong Racing and Mario Kart DS' mission mode, the new Free Roam lets you drive around the map at your leisure, having fun wherever you find it.

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Free Roam has more than 100 missions, activated by hitting the blue P-Switches densely scattered across the land. These bite-size challenges feature the creative designs you expect from Nintendo, presenting clever and surprisingly tough scenarios you won't see during normal races. You can bounce off music blocks from Super Mario Bros. 3 to collect blue coins, rocket up a waterfall and glide to the goal, and boost through swamp shortcuts. These challenges typically last only a few seconds, so it's easy to say "just one more" when you get into the groove. Like shrines in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, completing a mission or two is a breezy delight while playing on the go in the Switch 2's portable mode. 

As for rewards, missions unlock stickers you can place on your kart, although they're often too small to see. To unlock new characters and karts, you must complete Grand Prix races and collect coins. Along with the missions, you can search for secret coins and panels, pipes to new areas, or temporary vehicles like a UFO. Once, I spotted Nabbit stealing coins and quickly had to take him down. Those random emergent encounters add a wonderful sense of mystery.

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Free Roam's exploration also encourages you to practice Mario Kart World's new racing mechanics, which add a nice layer of increased technical skill. Along with the typical powerslide boost, you can do a charge jump to hop onto nearby walls and grind on rails. This is still Mario Kart, so a random powerful item like a Bullet Bill or lightning bolt can and will ruin your day. However, these tricks empower anyone who puts in the work to master them.

In solo modes, you can rewind if you mess up and want to quickly try again. These controls also just feel fantastic in their own right, with physics as kinesthetically pleasing as a Tony Hawk skateboarding game or a full-on 3D platformer like Super Mario Odyssey. The movement is inherently fun, even when nothing is really happening.

That last part is crucial because there's one major knock against Free Roam: It doesn't have things to do. Eventually, I wanted a little more meat and a meaningful sense of larger progression. Give me a story to play through, or boss races unlocked by finishing missions in one area, for instance. Free Roam doesn't even support easy local split-screen multiplayer. You can only play with friends online, a disappointing limitation.

There's value in open worlds that are charmingly quaint, as they provide a nice antidote to bloated blockbusters desperate to shovel as much distracting content down your throat as possible. But Mario Kart World's Free Roam sometimes seems more like a Bowser’s Fury-style blueprint for a more fleshed-out take on this idea.

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Mario Kart World's most unexpected joy is simply vibing inside an extremely cool, big environment. It's such a novelty seeing Mario's world expanded into a space where you can imagine these characters actually existing and living. It naturally motivates you to seek out and investigate neat little scenes, like Yoshi and friends sitting at a campfire or a train you can ride on top of. I spent hours aimlessly cruising across the map, unlocking new costumes by eating regional food, because I simply wanted to absorb it all.

An open world set in a fantastical land provides a different kind of transportive fantasy than Forza Horizon's real-world locales. Gorgeous as they are, they cannot match Mario Kart World's whimsy. There are familiar biomes, from deserts to beaches to snowy mountains. But here, the highways turn into giant beanstalks, dinosaurs smile at you, and you ride on rainbows. I am tired of Earth, get me to Mario's country.

Graphics and Audio: Stunning Visuals and Super Music

It helps that, thanks to the added power of Nintendo Switch 2, Mario Kart World is a visual feast. Even compared with prior Mario Kart games, Mario Kart World features a more exaggerated, cartoonish aesthetic. The emphasis on character personality recalls Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Running at up to 1440p/60fps, fast races and scenic vistas look stunning in motion. Changing weather and the day/cycle dramatically alter the mood of any given area. The in-game photography tool makes you slow down and appreciate the craft and detail as you compose the best shot. 

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Meanwhile, the soundtrack is Nintendo's best remix album since Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, offering more than 200 live arrangements of Mario music from various eras. There are too many amazing tunes to list, but Super Mario 64's file select theme is now a chillwave banger. Hearing these tracks kept my spirits consistently high, even while driving to nowhere in particular. I wish I could pick specific songs to listen to on an in-game radio station.

Familiar Modes: Versus, Online, Battle, and Bob-omb Blast

Mario Kart World's new modes and systems are so fascinating that they can make you forget the strength of the normal modes, even if they aren't a revolutionary upgrade from prior Mario Kart games. Accessibility features help younger players stay on track, while time trials push pros to shave seconds off their record. Or, you can ignore the interconnected map and just participate in traditional versus races.

You can play local split-screen mode with up to four players, as long as you can tolerate the halved frame rate. Or, you play online with 23 other humans. With the Switch 2's new GameChat feature, you can talk with friends or see their faces if you have a USB-C webcam. Even during local play, the camera has a use, putting your face in the game. 

Battle Mode is a mix of nostalgic maps and new arenas derived from existing tracks. It's a lot of fun shifting the focus from being fast to being furious as you blast opponents with weapons. But by not taking advantage of the open world, Battle Mode feels like a missed opportunity. The Fortnite formula was right there. Plus, with only Balloon Battle and Coin Runners, Mario Kart World doesn't have as many battle modes as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. 

Finally, Nintendo added the fan-favorite Bob-omb Blast Battle mode as free DLC. I haven't played it yet, but look out for impressions.